You either have it or you don't, right? Thankfully, that's not true.

If you would have asked me 4 months ago if I considered myself to be a disciplined person, I would have said absolutely not. If you would have asked me the same question a year ago? I would have looked at you in total confusion. The concept of discipline wasn't even on my radar. In fact, I was only first introduced to this concept last summer from a podcast by my teacher, Brooke Castillo (The Life Coach School podcast - 10/10 recommend, btw). I truthfully had never even considered the concept of self-discipline and how it might apply to my life. When I thought of the word 'discipline' I thought of being a kid and getting in trouble. The word 'discipline' had a very negative connotation for me. In my mind, discipline = trouble = feels negative = avoid at all costs. No wonder I avoided discipline like the plague and no wonder my life was kind of a mess. Especially in the areas of money, relationships, time, and my physical and emotional health. I think the only area of my life where I had a modicum of discipline was at work. I would describe my approach to all of those other areas as impulsive, reactive, unstructured. I felt out of control and at the effect of my life. It seemed like I just couldn't catch a break. It was always one thing after the other.

Now? I would absolutely describe myself as a disciplined person. I follow a budget, I follow a workout plan, I follow an eating plan, and I follow a schedule - 7 days per week. I was so discipline-resistant because it felt intrusive and overbearing and like it would be no fun. When in fact, it's been the exact opposite. I have more freedom because I'm disciplined, not less. I enjoy my free time so much more. I feel confident when I spend money now, instead of out of control. I love my morning routine, my exercise routine and the fact that I have zero drama around food and what I eat. It's the loving and compassionate thing I could have done for myself.

So if discipline isn't this terrible thing, what is it? To me, discipline is: the freedom gained by implementing self-obedience and structure. Discipline is 100% a learned behavior and when it's rooted in love, it's kind, caring and compassionate.

I know this is cliche, but hear me, if I can become a disciplined person - anyone can learn to become disciplined. Up until a few months ago, my life was the antithesis of discipline. There are many, many examples of this in my life, but right now I'm thinking back to a time where my car was literally packed - the trunk, back seat and front seat - PACKED with clothes, perfume, books, dishes and appliances that I never bothered to move into my apartment. I lived that way, with my car in that state for several years.

Becoming self-disciplined is a process. Even now, I'm still working on being even more disciplined with my schedule but my house is clean, my car is clean, my bills are paid on time, my blog photos are taken, blog posts written, birthdays remembered, and we have the groceries we need for the meals we want. Y'all, I would literally not go grocery shopping for weeks and sit around and wonder why I never had the ingredients I needed to make meals. It felt like a mystery to me. Same with money. I'd spend it at will and wonder why I didn't have enough by the end of the month. It's not a fun way to live. I know. I spent basically my entire adult life up until this point living that way. Now that I'm on the other side, I want to shout from the rooftops, "Life doesn't have to be as hard as we make it with lack of discipline!"

If this sounds like you - I can help! I've been there, now let's get you out of that cycle, too. Book a consult and we'll get started right away.

P.S. If you're like no way, I'm sure it wasn't THAT bad. Ahem. Please see below. I've provided photographic evidence below. Notice the dates. YEARS my friends. YEARS. And this is just ONE example. Whew. I could talk about my relationships (yikes), the state of my emotional maturity (omg), or my finances (disaster zone).